ABOUT THIS ALBUM

"Into the Land of Phantoms" is an elegant, eerie journey led by cello, violin, marimba and orchestral percussion- hanging like velvet curtains around Jill Tracy's signature dark parlor piano."

Described by the SF Weekly as "exquisite, lush, and positively poetic," the noirish compositions by Jill Tracy and The Malcontent Orchestra have developed a fervid following of devotees, critical acclaim, and multiple Bay Area Music Awards nominations. Their original score to F.W. Murnau's silent vampire classic "Nosferatu" has only enhanced the band's reputation of sophistication and musical virtuosity. The San Francisco Examiner described the score as "remarkable....lyrical and lovely." The Marin Independent called it "unforgettable." The San Francisco Chronicle hailed Nosferatu "deliciously macabre."

"I strive to honor the integrity of the film," explained composer/pianist Jill Tracy in a 1999 SF Gate interview during the filmscore's debut. I don't see Nosferatu as inciting horror or trepidation, as much as an unsettling allure. It's a beautiful, sensual work; the listener should surrender to the spell of the music as intensely as to the spell of the vampire."

For the past five years, Jill Tracy and The Malcontent Orchestra have performed the score live during the week of Halloween to the delight of Bay Area audiences. This is Jill Tracy's first instrumental album of this sort.

The beautifully designed booklet features artwork created from both the film's lavish scenes and the band in the theatre performing the work.

Check out Jill Tracy's stunning CD "Diabolical Streak" also available on CD Baby!

My new favorite cd, I can listen to this nonstop. Hypnotic, darkly magical, it evokes images of stormy nights and ominous shadows. Will definitely be playing this at my next Halloween party along with the movie. I feel lucky to have found this CD.

This CD isn't a typical soundtrack as it was written to be performed continuously throughout the film, not just at the moody or exciting bits like most scores. As such it stands alone much better than most scores and the listening experience is more like listening to an opera than to a typical soundtrack. Like an opera, the music really does tell an entire story - even without a vocal track.

More to the point, the music is fantastic: great background music for a dark and stormy night. You're not going to find anything else like this out there, and if you like the macabre and gothic, you'll love this.

A number of scores for this film have materialized... Into The Land Of Phantoms is definitely a proud and effective addition to that family. If you enjoyed music from Hellraiser, The Omen, or Needful Things, you should get this CD.

Being engulfed in an array of maticulous sounds and atmospheres describes the feeling of listening to Jill Tracy and the Malcontent Orchestra accompany the movie "Nosferatu". This CD is the reason that I am going to go out and buy the movie itself! I highly recommend this CD as it can be used not only to accompany the movie, but as quiet listening music, or as background music to make reading an eerie book more chilling.

I'm prejudiced. I saw Nosferatu at the Red Vic during a performance by the Malcontent Orchestra and I consider it one of the great experiences of my life. The recorded performance on the CD stands on its own as an aural visual masterpiece. Listen to the pages turning in 'the Book of the Vampires'. Watch Renfield roll his eyes and grin in 'Renfield concocts a scheme'. Overall, a delightfully macabre and incredibly subtle performance. Listen to it with the lights off or play it while working on your Peter Lorre impression. This is the real Goth music, as in Baudelaire, Lon Chaney, and Boris Karloff.

I can't recall just where I read about this cd, but it was temporarily sold out when I checked for it. I put my name on a waiting list for the next pressing, and I am glad I did -- I have yet to try and play it in synch with my copy of "Noserfatu", but it is wonderful all on its own. I would really love to catch a live performance of it some day at the Vic in San Francisco!